Former Wildcats Star Set to Start as NFL Rookie
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Former Arizona Wildcat and current Miami Dolphins guard Jonah Savaiinaea is set to start on their offensive line this year. Protection for Tua Tagovailoa had been a priority for Miami this offseason, as they opted to use their early second-round pick on Savaiinaea, who established himself as one of the draft's best interior linemen.
Arizona had two prominent prospects get drafted this past April, Savaiinaea being one of them and then Tetairoa McMillan going No.8 to the Carolina Panthers. Seeing Wildcats go this high in the draft has to be an indicator that the program is turning in the right direction.
Anyways, in their first unofficial depth chart, the Dolphins listed Savaiinaea as their starting left guard. In a pivotal season for the Dolphins, who need results immediately, having Savaiinaea already in the mix as a starter shows how highly they view his talent.
Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry had this to say regarding Savaiinaea: "Does he have a lot of stuff to work on? Absolutely, he's got a lot of stuff to work on and we haven't played real games or anything like that... I think the process of which he goes about it and understanding how to be a pro, we've got some really good guys in the room that can teach him how to be a pro."
Savaiinaea's first task was against the Chicago Bears' defensive front, as the teams met for joint practices ahead of their preseason game on Sunday. Savaiinaea still might play despite getting tons of reps at practice, but here's what Barry was looking to see from his young rookie guard during joint practices.
"You're going out there to play football, something you've done your whole life, right?" Barry said. "It's against another opponent... And so it's gonna be very intense, but he's already an intense person. He's already a very focused person. So I think he'll be in a good place mentally where he's got to be."
Savaiinaea is set to represent the Wildcats well in his first year in the NFL. Along with McMillan in Carolina, Arizona football will be on display during this NFL season.
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